When Were Vapes Invented? Dates From the Patent Record
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Reviewed Nov 10, 2026. Sources: official USPTO PDFs for U.S. Patent 3,200,819 and U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2006/0196518 A1, and the European Patent Office PDF for EP 1 618 803 A1 (all HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026). This page is a patent-record timeline, not legal advice and not a first-sale history.
Quick answer: There is no single official invention day for vapes. The U.S. Patent Office issued U.S. Patent 3,200,819 to Herbert A. Gilbert on August 17, 1965, from an application filed April 17, 1963 (Serial No. 273,624). The official patent drawing and specification show a battery, a heating element, and a detachable flavor cartridge. Much later, Lik Hon’s U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2006/0196518 A1 was published on September 7, 2006, from a PCT filing dated March 8, 2004, and lists a foreign priority date of April 29, 2003 (application 03111582.9). A related European application, EP 1 618 803 A1, was published on January 25, 2006. Those later documents describe an electronic atomizing device with a battery, a liquid container, and a vaporization nozzle. Jump to the date table.
Key dates in the public patent record
The dates below are taken from the official documents linked in the last column. We did not add a first retail-sale year, because we did not find a single official sale date we could verify the same way on Nov 10, 2026.
| Date | What the official record shows | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| April 17, 1963 | Herbert A. Gilbert files U.S. application Serial No. 273,624, as printed on the issued patent. | USPTO official PDF, U.S. Patent 3,200,819 (HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
| August 17, 1965 | The U.S. Patent Office issues U.S. Patent 3,200,819 to Herbert A. Gilbert. The official drawing sheet is also dated Aug. 17, 1965, and names the inventor as Herbert A. Gilbert. | Same USPTO official PDF (HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
| April 29, 2003 | Foreign application priority date 03111582.9, as printed on U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2006/0196518 A1 and on EP 1 618 803 A1. | USPTO official PDF, US 2006/0196518 A1 and EPO official PDF, EP 1 618 803 A1 (both HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
| March 8, 2004 | PCT filing date printed on US 2006/0196518 A1 (Appl. No. 10/547,244) and on EP 1 618 803 A1 as the European filing date. | Same USPTO and EPO official PDFs (HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
| November 11, 2004 | International publication number WO 2004/095955, as printed on the EPO document. | EPO official PDF, EP 1 618 803 A1 (HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
| January 25, 2006 | EP 1 618 803 A1 is published. The inventor is listed as Hon, Lik. | Same EPO official PDF (HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
| September 7, 2006 | U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2006/0196518 A1 is published. The inventor is listed as Lik Hon. | USPTO official PDF, US 2006/0196518 A1 (HTTP 200, checked Nov 10, 2026) |
The 1965 Gilbert patent
On the official USPTO PDF, the specification heading reads “United States Patent Office,” patent number 3,200,819, “Patented Aug. 17, 1965,” inventor Herbert A. Gilbert, “Filed Apr. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 273,624,” and “10 Claims.” The first sheet of drawings is also headed Aug. 17, 1965, and names Herbert A. Gilbert as the inventor.
The specification and figures describe a handheld device with a detachable flavor cartridge of absorbent material, a heating element (described as a vacuum tube or bulb), and a battery in a cavity with a contact strip. In assembly, the flavor cartridge can be introduced and removed. This page reports those apparatus details from the official PDF. It does not repeat other statements in the specification, and it does not treat the 1965 patent as proof of a first product going on sale.
The 2003–2006 Hon filings
The official USPTO publication US 2006/0196518 A1 is a United States Patent Application Publication dated September 7, 2006. It lists the inventor as Lik Hon, application number 10/547,244, a PCT filing date of March 8, 2004, PCT number PCT/CN04/00182, and a foreign application priority date of April 29, 2003, application 03111582.9.
The official EPO PDF for EP 1 618 803 A1 lists the same inventor as Hon, Lik, a date of filing of March 8, 2004, international application PCT/CN2004/000182, international publication WO 2004/095955 (November 11, 2004), priority of April 29, 2003, and a publication date of January 25, 2006.
Those documents describe an electronic atomizing device that includes a shell, a battery (“cell”), a liquid storage container, a control circuit, sensors, and a vaporization nozzle. This page uses the bibliographic dates and that apparatus list. It does not repeat other claims in the abstracts, and it does not treat a publication date as a first retail-sale date.
When were disposable vapes invented?
We did not find a single official “first disposable vape” date on the patent PDFs checked Nov 10, 2026, that we can cite the same way as the dates above. Today’s sealed, pre-filled disposables are a later product format than the documents in the table. For what we carry now, see our disposable vape collection, how to use a disposable vape, and pod kit vs disposable vape.
A patent is not a first-sale date
A granted patent or a published application is a public document with a filing, priority, and publication or issue date. Those dates are what this page reports. They do not, by themselves, prove when a device first went on a store shelf. If an official first-sale date is not on the records we checked, we leave it out.
FAQ
When were vapes invented?
There is no single official invention day. The U.S. Patent Office issued U.S. Patent 3,200,819 to Herbert A. Gilbert on August 17, 1965, from an application filed April 17, 1963. Lik Hon’s U.S. publication US 2006/0196518 A1 was published September 7, 2006, from a PCT filing dated March 8, 2004, with a foreign priority date of April 29, 2003. Checked Nov 10, 2026, on the official USPTO and EPO PDFs.
Who invented vapes?
The public patent record does not name one official inventor of “the vape.” Herbert A. Gilbert is the inventor named on U.S. Patent 3,200,819 (issued August 17, 1965). Lik Hon (listed as Hon, Lik on the European document) is the inventor named on US 2006/0196518 A1 and EP 1 618 803 A1. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
When were disposable vapes invented?
We did not find a single official first-disposable date on the patent PDFs checked Nov 10, 2026. Sealed, pre-filled disposables are a later product format. See our disposable vape collection and how to use a disposable vape.
What does U.S. Patent 3,200,819 describe?
The official USPTO PDF shows a handheld device with a detachable flavor cartridge, a heating element, and a battery. It was filed April 17, 1963, and issued August 17, 1965, to Herbert A. Gilbert. A patent describes a claimed invention in a public document; it is not, by itself, a first-sale date. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
When did Lik Hon file the later atomizer documents?
US 2006/0196518 A1 lists a foreign priority date of April 29, 2003, a PCT filing date of March 8, 2004, and a U.S. publication date of September 7, 2006. EP 1 618 803 A1 was published January 25, 2006, and prints the same March 8, 2004 filing date and April 29, 2003 priority date. Checked Nov 10, 2026.
Does a patent date mean a product was already on sale?
No. The dates on these official PDFs are filing, priority, publication, or issue dates. This page does not assign a first retail-sale year that we could not verify on those records. For current disposable devices we carry, see the disposable vape collection, what is a Geek Bar, best disposable vapes, and how to charge a vape.